What’s in? What’s out this week?

Every Friday, RI Relevant’s Joanne Giannini breaks down what’s in and what’s out concerning Rhode Island. Joanne Giannini is a former State Representative from Providence. A freelance journalist, consultant and writer, she has previously written commentary for The Providence journal, GolocalProv and WPRO radio. Contact her at Pt3270@yahoo.com

What’s in…

The Governor’s campaign chest..The race for Governor is on with Governor Gina Raimondo leading the pack with over $3 million dollars in her campaign chest…who would have ever thought that running for a job that makes $129,210 a year, you would spend over $3 million to keep it? Why has the race for Governor become a money game? Are we to believe you need these outrageous amounts of campaign money to win an elected office in Rhode Island? Which leads me to my next question . What fringe benefits are in the position of Governor that a candidate would spend millions to be elected?

The Power, the national spotlight, the road to Washington and media notoriety, are all possible answers to this question.

Will Rhode Islanders fall for the money game or will they choose candidates who offer change, competency and a vision for Rhode Island?

Inquiring minds want to know. Stay tuned.

The Mayors Campaign chest…Storing over a $500,000 in his campaign account, Mayor Jorge Elorza seems ready to take in all perspective opponents. His annual salary is approximately $120,000 as last reported.

The interest for running for Mayor seems to be less than the Governor’s race. Only two candidates have expressed intentions to run, which is not a lot considering this is the Capitol city of our state. Many past mayors have considered this office a stepping stone to higher office, while others were content with the status quo. This office certainly is an important one because it sets the fundamentals for the rest of the state. The old saying goes, “ As goes Providence, goes the rest of our state…”. It’s early yet in the campaign season, and many more could come forward. Who will offer Providence what it needs and what residents want? Less crime, lower taxes, cleaner streets, safe schools, and more city services are in most people’s priorities. Let’s see who can fill the bill. Interesting times are ahead.

Children come first…so school was cancelled on Wednesday because of hazardous snow conditions predicted across the state. So, we lucked out this time and the storm was not as severe as they had anticipated. I say hooray for us. As far as the school officials, they have a tough job trying to decide what to do. I feel it’s better to err on the side of caution than to err in possible debacles. We all remember the December 13th debacle several years ago when children were stuck in a school bus till nighttime. This year has had enough tragedies in our school. Let’s be thankful that we were fortunate this time and that our kids remain safe. Let’s keep our children safe and remember things are not the same as years ago. Just saying.

What’s out…

Dan Hurley…has been named the named the new basketball coach at UCONN…As reported by ESPN Hurley took a six year deal with UCONN even though URI increased their offer to keep him. He reportedly could receive as much as $3 million dollars as compared to his present salary of

$1.5 Million at URI. Am I the only one who thinks this is outrageous for a college basketball coach? Certainly URI basketball brings in a lot to the University but just how much is URI suppose to pay for a coach? In a small state with a struggling economy, these salaries seem out of bounds. Time for a time out to re-evaluate the game plan. Let’s hope URI finds another coach with a commitment to the players and college to fill the post.

Online sex trafficking….A new bill passed in the United States House of Representatives yesterday and is in its way to the Senate. It targets online websites such as “Backpage.com” from soliciting both prostitution and johns with ads promoting sex trafficking.

The new law is called “Allow states and victims to fight online sex trafficking act of 2027.” It allows state attorney generals to file suit against websites that violate the human trafficking and sex trafficking laws.

This is a step forward in the fight against the purge of sex trafficking.

Joanne Giannini is a former State Representative from Providence. A freelance journalist, consultant and writer, she has previously written commentary for The Providence journal, GolocalProv and WPRO radio. Contact her at Pt3270@yahoo.com